Passengers claiming to be refugees say they are in a leaking boat 300 kilometres off Christmas Island after spending two weeks at sea during a non-stop journey from India.

After being contacted by a refugee advocate, Fairfax Media spoke to two of the 153 people allegedly on board the boat, who told of their plight via satellite phone.

A female passenger, who identified as Tamil, said the boat was carrying 37 children and 32 women.

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‘‘We need some help,’’ she said. ‘‘We are refugees.’’

The woman said they did not pay any money to board the boat, which she said had left from Puducherry in the south of India on June 13.

Another man who spoke Tamil came to the phone, saying: ‘‘We have come to Christmas Island because we don’t have anything. We have travelled all the way from India.’’

‘‘The boat is damaged. It is leaking,’’ he said. ‘‘There are children, including infants and we are unable to manage.’’

Asylum seekers on board the boat say they were given rice and fish by Indonesian fishing boats.

No vessel carrying asylum seekers has successfully reached Australian shores since December 19.

This boat will likely pose a major challenge to the government’s turn-back policy, given it has not departed from Indonesia nor stopped to pick up supplies anywhere closer to Australia during its two-week journey.

In March, the Abbott government tripled to $7.5 million the amount of money spent on the large orange lifeboats that used to tow back to Indonesia asylum seekers breaching Australian waters.

It is unlikely the government could return the boat to India in one of these orange lifeboats, given their short-trip purpose.

Fairfax Media has informed the Australian Maritime Safety Authority of the details of the boat.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison would not comment on the vessel, nor its position, but said there had been "no significant events involving extreme risk of safety of life at sea".

“For operational security reasons, the government does not confirm or otherwise comment on reports of on-water activities in relation to Operation Sovereign Borders or disclose details of any operations other than where there have been significant events involving extreme risk of safety of life at sea. The government has no such reports of significant events," a spokesman for the minister said.

“The Australian government takes its border security responsibilities seriously.